'My enemy's enemy?'

Hedi Slimane disappoints critics at YSL debut

After much hype and anticipation, Hedi Slimane's debut at Yves Saint Laurent, which featured a confusing amount of fringing, lace, tassels, feathers and sequins, was generally written off by critics as disappointing.

When fashion editors put down their pens halfway through a catwalk show, it's always cause for worry.

This was the case at Hedi Slimane's disappointing debut at Yves Saint Laurent — a rather confused ode to excess that used fringing, leather, lacing, tassels, feathers, sequins, skinny menswear tailoring, baggy pants, cinching cummerbunds, capes, tribal pendants and almost everything else under the sun.

That's not to mention an oversized black and white coat that could have been worn by Cruella de Ville.

Pierre Berge, Saint Laurent's former partner, speaking ahead of the show said: "(Slimane) knows the Saint Laurent DNA, the spirit."

There was definitely a nod to that. For example, black silk neckbows, a house signature that was used as a leitmotif. But the collection lacked the empowering sex appeal that made Saint Laurent one of the most famous names in fashion.

The bows, rather symbolically, instead of unifying the collection, fought with other busy materials for attention.